Last Updated on 4 years by The Cheese Society Team
INGREDIENTS
For the cheesy crumble topping
125g diced Salted Butter
200g wholewheat flour
75g Jumbo oats
25g roughly chopped hazelnuts or Brazil nuts or Pecans
25g mixed seeds
1 Tablespoon freshly chopped Parsley
1 Tablespoon freshly chopped Chives
100g grated Mature Tasty Cheddar
50g Grated Parmesan Reggiano
For the crumble filling
A mixture of vegetables that you have available – below are suggestions – put in what you have
1 large onion finely sliced
1 lge potato, diced
1 courgette, diced
1 red chilli – finely chopped (optional)
4 tomatoes chopped
Handful frozen peas
1 leek, sliced
3 grated carrots
1 Red Pepper chunkily chopped
Handful spinach or Swiss Chard
½ fennel bulb
Handful of runner beans
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Tablespoon of chopped chives
1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
100ml dry white wine
250ml Crème Fraiche or Double Cream
1 tsp of sea salt & 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
METHOD
- Make your vegetable cheese & herb crumble by rubbing your flour, butter, oats, by hand or briefly in a food processor. Then add nuts, herbs and seeds, you should have a fairly coarse bread crumb texture. Then mix in the grated cheddar.
- (TIP Put surplus topping in a bag in the freezer for future use. Could be for popping on GRATINS, or a quick base for a savoury scone or pastry case)
- Chop all your vegetables roughly to same bitesize, put into a large roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in oven at 220C for about 30-40 minutes until well coloured and tinged and slightly charred on the edges.
- Take out of the oven and put on the hob on medium heat. Add the stock cube and melt into the vegetables, together with a small glass of white wine – reduce briefly
- Stir in Crème Fraiche or cream and bring to simmer to thicken a little for around five minutes
- Add herbs and season to taste, and leave to cool for about 15 minutes before putting on the topping.
- Preheat the oven to 190˚C.
- Place the vegetable mixture in a shallow oven proof dish and top with an even layer (about 1/2″ inch) of the crumble over the vegetables and finish with the grated Parmesan. Don’t be tempted to put a really deep layer on the vegetables as a greater depth of topping can make the crumble difficult to cook through properly and lose its lovely crispness.
- Bake in the oven for around 45 minutes. The savoury crumble will bubble through from the saucy vegetables and the topping should be golden brown.
- Sprinkle your vegetable cheese & herb crumble with extra parsley and serve warm from the oven with some buttery soft well dressed lettuce leaves.
